Robert Kokesh hugs Assistant Coach Bryan Snyder following the match. They are the two winningest sophomores in Husker history.

Photo Courtesy Keith Southworth

Courtesy: NU Media Relations

03/23/2013

Des Moines, Iowa – Sophomore Robert Kokesh (174) avenged a pair of losses from earlier this season on Saturday to finish third at the NCAA Championships.

As a team, the Huskers finished 13th with 38 points. Penn State captured its third consecutive NCAA team title, edging runner-up Oklahoma State by four with 123.5 points.

Kokesh, the No. 4-seed, opened his morning against No. 3-seed Mike Evans of Iowa in a rematch of the Husker sophomore’s 9-6 loss on Feb. 10. After a scoreless first period this time around, Kokesh and Evans traded escapes for a 1-1 tie in the third period. In the closing minute, Kokesh took down Evans for a 3-1 lead and held on for a 3-2 win over the Hawkeye.

In the third place match, Kokesh faced fellow South Dakota native and No. 6-seed Logan Storley of Minnesota. Kokesh earned an escape in the second period and Storley matched it in the third period after a scoreless first three minutes. They headed to sudden victory in a 1-1 tie, similar to their matchup on Nov. 16, which the Gopher won 3-1. But this time around, Kokesh earned the takedown and a 3-1 sudden victory to finish third at the NCAA Championships.

Kokesh achieved All-America honors for the first time in his career and finished the 2012-13 campaign with a 38-4 record. The 38 wins put him in a tie for seventh on Nebraska’s top-20 season victories list with Brad Vering (1999-00), Bill Scherr (1982-83) and Tolly Thompson (1993-94). It also gives the Wagner, S.D., native the second-most wins in a season by a sophomore behind Bryan Snyder’s 43 victories in 1999-00.

Sophomore James Green, the No. 4-seed at 157 pounds, battled No. 5-seed James Fleming of Clarion in the seventh place match on Saturday after earning All-America status for the second consecutive year on Friday. Green dominated throughout the match en route to a 14-4 major decision. He places seventh at the NCAA Championships, matching his finish from 2012. Green completes the season with a 25-6 record and a 5-2 showing in Des Moines.